I Said I'd Always Be There
by TheeAnonymousFangirl
Summary: Jane gets into a bad accident and Maura has to respond to the call from the hospital. The only problem is, everything has changed between them.
1. Chapter 1

_Hi all! I really liked this prompt so I thought I'd give it a shot at writing a story. I only own Doctor Genevieve Tanner. All other characters and the show are not mine._

* * *

It was a cold Wednesday morning and Maura was in her office finishing up on some paperwork when her cellphone rang. She blindly reached for it and pressed the answer button.

"This is Doctor Isles."

"Hi Doctor Isles, we have you listed as the emergency contact for Jane Rizzoli."

Maura pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the caller ID. The screen read Massachusetts General Hospital. Her eyes flew open and she slammed the phone back to her ear.

"What happened to her? Is she okay?"

"Actually Doctor Isles, that's why I'm calling. Jane has been in a bad accident, she's in a coma."

Maura felt herself freeze. She seemed to be having an out of body experience as she processed what was just said to her.

The voice on the other end that seemed so far away, brought her back to reality.

"Doctor Isles?"

Nothing.

"Doctor Isles?"

Maura blinked and exhaled the breath she didn't know she was holding in.

"I'm on my way."

She hit the end button and hurriedly gathered her things. She ran out the door and straight to the elevator, not even bothering to turn off the lights.

Once the elevator doors opened on the main floor she ran out and flew through the front entrance, heading straight for her car.

After running for felt like forever, she finally made it to her car. She threw open the door and jumped in. Just as she was about to start it, she stopped. Her hands were shaking and her heart has hammering inside her chest. She took three deeps breaths to try to calm herself down. After releasing the third breath, she opened her eyes and started the car. Reversing her car out of the parking space and then throwing it into drive, she stepped on the gas, heading straight for the hospital.

"I'm here for Jane Rizzoli," Maura said breathlessly as she ran into the front desk.

"Doctor Isles?"

Maura spun around to see a very tired looking redhead.

"I'm Genevieve Tanner, Jane's doctor. I'll take you up to her room."

Before Genevieve could even turn for the elevators, Maura blurted out, "What happened?"

The redhead walked over to Maura and placed her hand on her shoulder. Maura could see the kindness in the older woman's eyes.

"Let's go upstairs and talk."

The blonde allowed herself to be dragged to the elevators.

Inside, neither woman talked, both lost in their own thoughts.

Once they reached the third floor, Doctor Tanner led Maura over to a row of chairs across the hall from Jane's room.

"Can I get you some coffee or anything?"

"No, thank you. What happened to Jane? Is she alright?"

The questions came out in a rush.

" , pl-"

"Maura, please call me Maura."

The redhead smiled before continuing.

"Maura, please try to calm down."

The Medical Examiner closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes again and slowly nodded her head for Jane's doctor to continue.

"Jane was in a bad car accident yesterday at around three in the afternoon. The traffic light she was stopped at had turned green and she was going through the intersection when a man in a truck ran a red light and slammed into her car. From what we were told, he was going pretty fast. Her car rolled three times and crashed into a streetlight. She was trapped inside the car for about forty-five minutes before the firefighters were able to free her. She suffered from broken ribs, a fractured nose, and head trauma, which is what put her in the coma. She has many large cuts all over her body from broken glass and we had to remove a large piece that was sticking out of her arm."

Maura couldn't breath. Tears were running down her face as the kind doctor informed her of Jane's condition.

"Is she going to be alright," Maura asked in barely a whisper.

Maura noticed the shift of Doctor Tanner's eyes and the long pause. This caused the tears to fall faster.

"Maura, I'm going to be very honest with you, we aren't sure if Jane is going to come out of this coma."

Everything stopped. Maura suddenly felt dizzy and nauseous.

Genevieve grabbed Maura's hands and gently squeezed as she fought back her own tears.

"Maura, I promise you we will not stop fighting. We are going to do everything we can to save her."

Without thinking Maura threw her arms around the other woman. They sat in the embrace for a few moments before Maura pulled away, wiping at her eyes.

"Would you like to see her?"

Maura looked up from her lap.

"I-I don't know."

Suddenly, something dawned on her.

"On the phone you said that I am the emergency contact for Jane."

Doctor Tanner nodded her head.

"Yes that's right, in fact you're the only one on her emergency form."

Maura took a breath before she asked the next question.

"Wheres um…..wheres her husband?"

The redheaded doctor looked confused.

"I'm sorry, but we were under the impression that you are Jane's significant other."

Maura sadly nodded and looked at the closed door of the detective's room before turning back to Doctor Tanner.

"No, Jane and I aren't together. Not anymore. Not since I last saw her…...two years ago."


	2. Chapter 2

_Wow thank you all so much for the wonderful feedback! This chapter is kind of slow as I try to get into the groove of writing this story so please hang in there with me. I apologize in advance to those who said no Casey. I already had it planned out, but I assure you it will be okay. Anywho, I've read this chapter a ton of times but it's currently 1:20 in the morning so I'm sorry if there are mistakes! Okay, on with the reading!_

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Maura had been sitting in the same spot for over an hour. She couldn't move. Several times Doctor Tanner came to check on her, but she was too caught up in her thoughts to notice. So many things kept running through her mind. "Why is she still Jane's emergency contact?" "Why is she back in Boston?" "Where is Casey?"

Casey.

The man who ruined everything.

Two years ago Jane walked out of Maura's life because of Casey.

Now here she was, instead of him.

Why? Where the hell was he?

In the time Maura had been sitting in the hospital she hadn't heard one thing about where Casey was. If he truly loved her, he would have been here. Maura was always there for Jane, Casey only ever cared about himself. Maura became so angry at the thought of how stupid Jane was for choosing him and how stupid she herself was for always running when Jane needed her, even after she left Maura behind.

Of course Maura still had feelings for Jane, she always will, but two years ago Jane chose Casey over Maura. She left Boston with him and they moved to Maine. And in those years since the detective left, Maura had learned to move on. It took a while, but Maura had finally let go. She didn't think about Jane every second of every day anymore.

After all her hard work here she was, coming to Jane's rescue. Returning to the person she thought she'd never see again. Without even thinking, she ran straight to Jane, as usual.

And that's when she realized it. No matter what, she would always run to Jane. She would always love her. Jane would always be her home.

"Maura?"

The ME looked away from the closed door she had been staring at to see Doctor Tanner leaning against the wall.

"Do you want to see her?"

Maura took a sharp intake of breath before nodding her head once.

She stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress before taking a tentative step forward.

Doctor Tanner opened the door for Maura but she was frozen in place.

"It's okay Maura."

She doesn't remember moving her legs but the next thing she knew, she was standing next to Jane's bed, looking down at the brunette.

So many emotions were rushing through Maura. She plopped down in the chair Genevieve had moved next to Jane's bed for her.

The kind redhead placed her hand on Maura's shoulder.

"I'll give you some time," she whispered and walked out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

Maura hadn't taken her eyes off of Jane since she walked in the room. Instinctively, she grabbed the detective's hand.

Something crashed like a wave through Maura at the sudden contact that made her gasp.

Love.

She hadn't felt it in a little under two years. It all came back in such a rush that it made her dizzy.

Tears filled her eyes and she laid her head down on the bed, still holding onto Jane's hand.

A hand on her shoulder made Maura jump.

She looked at the clock on the bedside table. Her eyes were a little blurry but she could just make out the red numbers that were flashing 5:14 p.m.

She lifted her head from the bed and craned her neck to look at the person standing beside her.

Genevieve Tanner stood smiling even though Maura could see how tired she really was.

"You looked pretty uncomfortable. I didn't want you to get a sore neck. I can set up a cot for you if you'd like."

The ME stood and wrapped her arms around the other doctor.

"Thank you for everything Doctor Tanner. I'll be back tomorrow."

Genevieve squeezed Maura and then released her.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?"

Maura looked over her shoulder at Jane in the bed then back to the redhead and nodded.

"I'll leave you to say goodbye then."

Doctor Tanner walked to the door, but before she walked out she turned around.

"Maura?"

The blonde turned to look at the older woman.

"I don't know what happened between you and Jane, but it's clear to see you still have so much love for her. She's very lucky to have you and something tells me everything is going to work out."

They both smiled and Genevieve walked out, leaving Maura alone with Jane yet again.

She turned back to the brunette and wiped away the tears that slipped down her cheeks.

When they were together, Maura always knew what was coming next with Jane. Even before they were together they could always read echothers minds it seemed.

Now, she feels as though she doesn't know Jane at all. The woman she used to love is like a stranger to her.

The door opened and closed once more, but she assumed it was Doctor Tanner again so she didn't bother to look up right away.

When the other person didn't move, Maura looked up to see a woman she used to be very close to. A woman who used to be like a mother to her.

Angela Rizzoli.

They met halfway between the bed and the door and threw their arms around each other. Strangled sobs bounced off the hospital room walls as the two women clung to one another.

Angela pulled away and held Maura at arms length. She reached up and swiped the pad of her thumb across Maura's cheek, wiping away stray tears.

"How long have you been here?"

It took a moment for Maura's mind to process what was happening and catch up enough for her to form words.

"I've been here since about 11:30 this morning."

"Oh Maura, why didn't you call me?"

"Angela, I'm so sorry. A lot has been going through my mind since I got the call this morning."

"I'm not mad honey. I just can't believe you went through this whole day alone. Go home, get some rest."

Angela kissed Maura on the cheek before gently pushing her toward the door.

Before Maura could exit she turned around just as Doctor Tanner had done just minutes before.

"Did you know that I'm still Jane's emergency contact," she asked.

Angela chuckled a little bit.

"Doesn't surprise me," she replied.

Before Maura could ask what she meant, Angela continued.

"She never stopped thinking about you Maura. I know you think she did, but I can assure you she didn't. Everytime she called me she asked how you were. She never stopped trying to care for you and protect you."

"Yeah, well she sure wasn't trying to protect me when she left."

Angela opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.

After Jane left Angela was so angry at her for leaving Maura. The older Rizzoli woman and the ME had talked many times, both releasing their anger towards Jane for leaving. After a while they stopped talking, but Maura always knew how Angela felt. So when Angela opened her mouth but nothing came out, words weren't needed, Maura knew how she felt.

After a short pause, Maura pursed her lips and slowly nodded because she knew Angela agreed.

"Goodbye Angela," she said and left the room, swiftly walking down the hall towards the elevator as another round of sobs threatened to break free.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi everyone! I'm so sorry that it's been so long since Ive posted. Work and school have kept me really busy. I'll try to post often but I can't make any promises.

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Light rain was falling as Maura pulled into her driveway.

Perfect, she thought, weather to match my mood.

She stepped out into the cool night air and instantly felt rain drops fall on her.

In an almost zombie like state, she walked to her front door and sat down on the step.

She didn't care that her dress was probably getting ruined. She didn't care that she would most likely be soaked by the time she entered her house. She didn't care that it was cold. She didn't care that it was dark, the only light coming from the dim porchlight behind her.

She looked up into the night sky and let the rain fall on her face as she tried to clear her mind.

She just couldn't believe what was happening. Not only was Jane back, but she was in a coma and Maura didn't know where Casey was. Perhaps the thing that was most strange to her was the fact that after two years of the blonde and brunette not being together, Maura was still Jane's emergency contact.

After about ten minutes of sitting on the porch step, listening to the rain as it fell all around her, she got up to go inside.

As she crossed the threshold into the home that she has loved for so many years, a home that was once filled with so much love and joy, the calmness that she felt from sitting out in the rain, vanished.

For the first time in a long time she felt just how lonely her home truly was. Too big and too empty.

As she walked through her house, all the memories of her and Jane spending time together here flooded her brain.

All of this was too much for her to handle. This morning she awoke and went to work just like she has for the past two years and now here she was, standing in the middle of her living room trying to wrap her brain around what was happening.

There wasn't one part of this house that Jane hadn't left her print on. Maura wanted to escape. She wanted to get away from the things that reminded her of Jane. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible.

When Jane and Maura were together, and even before, they spent much of their free time at Maura's house. They specifically spent a good part of their time on Maura's couch, which her eyes had just landed on. Her eyes filled with tears as she could still picture the brunette sitting on the couch with her feet propped up on the table. Determined not to cry, she turned with a huff and headed for the stairs, leaving her puddle of water from her dripping clothes behind.

She entered her room and avoided looking at the bed as she dropped her clothes in a pile on the floor. Jane had spent the night in this bed countless times, whether it be because she was too tired to drive home, she was protecting Maura, or she just wanted to be close to the blonde.

Maura quickly changed into her pajamas and headed back downstairs to pour a glass of wine. Only alcohol would get her through the rest of this night.

She opened the fridge and her eyes immediately went to the bottles of beer that she had pushed to the very back.

She still had the bottles that Jane had left behind, she just couldn't bring herself to throw them out.

She slid her eyes to the lower shelf, grabbed the bottle of wine, and slammed the door shut.

She stood against the counter and hung her head. Her wet hair sent droplets onto the counter and down her back.

For the first time she thought about the other people who were affected when Jane left.

She thought of how upset everyone was and how different the group felt. They would want to know that Jane was back.

She picked up her phone that she had thrown on the counter and dialed a familiar number.

"Hey"

Frost's voice on the other end seemed happy, which made Maura's heart break a little because of the information she was about to give him.

"Hey," it came out in a whisper.

"Maura? What's the matter?"

"Jane's back."

There was a pause. Maura could practically hear Frost on the other end processing what he had just been told.

"Hello?"

"I'm here." He replied so quietly that if she moved in the slightest she probably wouldn't have heard it.

"When um, when did you find out?"

"I got a call from the hospital this morning while I was at work. I ran out so fast that I didn't even think to tell you until now. Jane's in a coma. She got in a car accident. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you."

"It's okay Maura! Do you know how she's going to be? Can I see her?"

"I think you can see her. I saw her today. But before you do Frost I have to tell you something, her doctor said she isn't sure Jane is going to come out of the coma."

Again it was silent on the other end.

"I want to see her."

"I'm going back in the morning, you should come too. She's at Mass Gen."

"I think I will. Thank you for calling me Maur."

"Of course. See you in the morning?"

"Yeah. Get some sleep."

"You too. Goodnight."

"Night."

She pulled the phone away from her ear and dialed Korsak's number.

After a few rings it went to voicemail, so she left a message.

"Hi Vince, it's Maura. I have some news. Jane is back, but not only that, she was in a bad car accident this morning and she's in a coma. She's at Mass Gen if you want to see her. I have to be honest Vince, I'm scared she's not going to make it. I just wanted to let you know what was going on. I'm not going to be at work tomorrow. I'm not sure when I'm going to be back actually. Talk soon. Bye."

She quickly hung up the phone and wiped her eyes. She hadn't realized she was crying again until now.

In three big gulps she finished her wine and headed upstairs to her bedroom.

She layed in bed for hours before she finally fell asleep. When she did fall asleep, it was restless. She kept having the same dream, only it wasn't a dream. It was the nightmare she had lived the day Jane left, and when she awoke in the early morning, one thing kept ringing in her head.

" _Goodbye Maura."_


	4. Chapter 4

Hi everyone! Sorry for the long wait, it's been a rough couple of weeks. Things will possibly be slowing down soon so hopefully I can write more and update sooner. All my love! -F

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It had been a rough night to say the least.

Maura barely slept all night. At about 2 in the morning she heard Angela pull into the driveway and walk inside the guest house.

After Jane left, Maura still wanted Angela apart of her life. She wasn't going to kick the older woman out of her house. No matter what, the Rizzolis would always be her family.

It was 5:15 in the morning when Maura finally dragged herself out of bed. The sun was just starting to rise and the first rays of sunlight lit the room in a sort of haze.

She pulled on her robe and walked down stairs to make what would be the first of many cups of coffee today.

She had just poured the coffee into her mug when there was a knock at the side door. She closed her eyes and sighed knowing exactly who it was.

She walked to the door and slowly opened it, revealing a very tired Angela.

Two years ago Angela would have just walked in, even without warning, but this wasn't like it was back then.

The older woman followed the blonde into the kitchen and sat at the counter while Maura took refuge on the other side. The doctor reached out and clutched her mug, looking for something to break the awkwardness.

"Would you like some coffee?" Maura could hear her voice shake as she asked the question.

When did things between the two of them become so strange? When Jane had left, they tried to keep in contact and of course they knew that if either one needed something, they would be there for eachother. However it was still hard to be as close as they once were, and eventually stopped talking so often. Now that everyone knew Jane was back though, things were weird, like at first when Jane had left. They seemed to be tiptoeing around each other.

"I didn't know Maura."

The question long forgotten, Maura stared into Angela's eyes.

"What?"

"I didn't know Jane was back, or even coming back for that matter."

Maura looked down into her mug at the swirling coffee and Angela continued.

"I only found out when the hospital called me. I have to admit, I didn't go there right away. I guess I just didn't know what to expect. I mean I was SO mad at her for everything she did. Mostly leaving you."

A single tear rolled down the doctor's nose and dripped into her coffee.

"Maura, please look at me."

Reluctantly the blonde slowly rose her head and looked at Angela through watery eyes. In that moment, Maura knew why it was so hard to be around Angela right now. After finally willing her heart to let Jane go, now that the crazy brunette was back her heart was aching again, and when she saw Angela all she saw was Jane. The two were so much alike and in this moment, looking into Angela's eyes, she saw Jane's looking back at her.

"I'm so sorry honey. I never stopped loving you like one of my own. You have to know that Jane leaving never changed the way I feel about you. I will always be here for you, no matter what happens between you two. I will ALWAYS consider you family."

Maura walked around the island just as Angela was standing up. They wrapped their arms around each other and Maura burst into tears at the memories that rushed into her mind. Many times the blonde had hugged another Rizzoli in this exact spot and the memories were too much for her to handle.

"I love you, Maura."

"I love you too."

"And for the record, I never liked Casey."

Maura let out a breathy laugh and pulled away, wiping her eyes.

"Do you know where he is?"

Angela sighed before answering.

"No, but it doesn't really surprise me that he isn't around. He never seemed to be around much when they were in Maine. Maura it doesn't matter where he is. She was always happier with you."

"I just figured he'd be here with his wife or would have at least called."

"I tried to call him. He didn't answer," Angela said with a hint of anger in her eyes.

"I'm going back to the hospital in a little while, I just need to get ready."

"I'll go with you."

"Angela, no it's okay. Get some rest. I know you came home only a few hours ago.

The older woman smiled and kissed Maura on the cheek. She walked to the door and called over her shoulder, "call me if you need anything."

And then Maura was alone again in the silence of her house.

An hour and a half later, Maura was sitting in the parking lot of the hospital staring at the people walking in and out as she talked herself into going in.

She took a deep breath and stepped out of her car into yet another rainy Boston morning.

She walked into the hospital and made her way to the elevators, pushing the button for Jane's floor.

When the elevator arrived she stepped in and immediately began to shake.

"It's just Jane," she told herself. "Why am I so nervous?"

Although she didn't want to believe it, she knew the answer. The last time the two had spoken was nearly a year and a half ago. That was when Maura told Jane that they couldn't talk anymore. Their contact was what was holding Maura back from letting go and accepting the fact that Jane chose Casey over her.

Even after that conversation, Jane continued to call and text her for weeks until finally, Maura stop hearing from her. About a week after that, the blonde recieved a package in the mail from Jane. It was a locket necklace Maura had given her when they first started dating. On one side was Jane's family and on the other was a picture of her and Maura. When Maura received it in the mail, she knew it was truly over between them.

The elevator arrived at it's destination and the slowly opening doors revealed Frost standing in front of Jane's room looking absolutely crushed.

As soon as the elevator doors opened wide enough, Maura rushed down the hall and slammed into him. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his shoulder.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi all! Again I apologize like crazy for kind of disappearing. I'm graduating in a few weeks and I'm writing the speech for graduation so I've been kind of focused on that. I have part of the next chapter written up so hopefully it won't take me too long to post it. Again, I'm sorry for being gone. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Much love for you all for sticking around! Happy reading! Xo F

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2 weeks.

It had been two weeks since Jane's accident and she still hadn't woken up. said her chances of survival were becoming better each day, but the longer Jane stayed in her coma, the more her family worried.

Maura was at the hospital everyday and nearly every hour. She had barely gone to work since the accident. She tried, but was so distracted by everything happening with Jane that she couldn't properly get things done. She was hardly at home either, she was only there to shower, get a few hours of sleep, and eat.

It frustrated Maura so much that she was there for Jane every second, but she couldn't bring herself to stop. At one point Jane was her world, she couldn't just ignore the tug at her heart at having Jane in the same town as her again, so here she was, sitting in the same chair beside Jane's bed that she has been for the last fourteen days.

No one had heard anything from Casey the whole time Jane had been back. Maura was so curious to find out what was going on. Not curious enough to actually call Casey, however. If he was truly the wonderful man Jane had claimed he was, he'd contact someone on his own.

"Hi Maura."

The blonde was snapped out of her daze by the redhead standing next to her.

"Good morning Genevieve."

They exchanged a small smile before went to check the monitors.

"I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but what happened between you and Jane?"

Maura tore her gaze away from the battered brunette to look at the doctor.

She hadn't told this story in a long time. It hurt too much. For months she had played the events over and over in her head trying to figure out what was wrong with her, why Jane had left her.

For some reason though, she trusted Genevieve. She wanted to tell her the truth.

She took a deep breath and when she opened her mouth to begin, she was immediately transported back to that day.

 _Something was off. Maura knew it the moment Jane walked into the morgue._

" _Hey babe," the blonde called happily._

 _Jane was avoiding her eyes. She took one of her hands out of her pockets and rubbed the back of her neck._

" _Jane?"_

 _Finally she met Maura's worried expression._

" _Um, I'm going to be home a little late. There's something I need to do."_

 _Maura set down her clipboard and took a step toward Jane._

" _Is everything alright?"_

 _Jane plastered a fake smile on her face before answering._

" _Yeah everything is okay."_

 _She quickly leaned in and kissed Maura on the cheek before turning and rushing down the hall._

 _Maura poked her head out of the doorway and called after the brunette._

" _Jane!"_

 _She stopped but didn't turn around._

" _I love you."_

 _The detective tensed and only then did she slowly turn around._

" _I love you too."_

 _She quickly turned back around and continued toward the elevator._

 _Jane and Maura were the type that didn't necessarily question one another. They had been through too much in their lives and every once in awhile they needed time to themselves. They gave each other the space they needed._

 _Maura was asleep by the time Jane came home._

 _In the morning Maura awoke to a dead to the world brunette sleeping by her side._

 _The noise that made her wake sounded again. It was Jane's phone vibrating on the bedside table._

 _She got up to put the phone on silent, that's all she intended to do, but when she picked up the phone, that mission left her mind._

 _On the screen, flashing several times with calls and texts, was Casey's name._

 _Her heart stopped._

 _Why was Casey texting and calling Jane so much?_

 _She quickly set the phone back down and made her way to the kitchen._

 _She tried to busy herself but her mind was spinning._

 _As far as Maura knew, Jane hadn't seen or heard from Casey in almost a year. In fact right around the time the two women started dating is when he just disappeared._

 _Suddenly she heard loud footsteps on the stairs and her palms began to sweat._

 _Jane came around the corner with a smile on her face but it dropped as soon as she saw Maura leaning against the counter looking like she was about to explode._

" _Jane, I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to be very honest with me."_

 _The brunette crossed her arms and leaned against the wall._

 _Maura cleared her throat and looked down at the counter._

" _Did you go to see Casey last night?"_

 _The silence that followed was all the answer she needed._

" _Well alright then," the blonde whispered._

" _Maura, please let me explain."_

" _Explain? There's nothing to explain! Clearly you tried to hide it from me. I saw the way you were acting yesterday and I saw all the calls and texts from him! I never question you Jane, but right now, I have to."_

" _Maura, I didn't want to hurt you. I never ever intended to hurt you. I love you but I-"_

 _There was a pause before Jane continued and somehow, Maura knew what was coming._

" _I wanted to wait to tell you this, but I think- I um- I think we should break up."_

"About three days after that I found out she moved to Maine...with Casey. She left me for him. We dated for a year, but we had known each other for so long before that."

Maura angrily wiped a tear away that was running down her cheek.

"Oh Maura, I'm so sorry."

Maura gave a frustrated chuckle and looked back to Jane.

"I really don't know why I'm still here."

"You love her and clearly she loves you too, it's so obvious. She still has YOU as her emergency contact.""

The blonde looked back to Jane's doctor and the corner of her mouth slightly lifted.

"Yes, I do…...but I don't want to anymore."

About an hour later, Maura still by Jane's side, Angela stopped by.

She bent down and pressed a kiss to the side of Maura's head.

"Here sweetie," Angela said as she handed a salad to the blonde.

The older woman then made her way to Jane's side and processed to place a kiss on her daughter's head.

"Angela?"

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

Angela turned to look at Maura and the blonde took note of how soft and loving the older woman's eyes are.

"Of course honey."

"Do you think I'm crazy for being here, for staying by Jane's side even after what she did to me?"

"Oh Maura. Of course not. You two still love each other, and even if you didn't, you both have been through too much together and would still always want the best for one another. Let's be honest, no matter what, you two will always protect the other."

The next few days went on as the last two weeks had gone, but at the end of the week, something changed.

Jane woke up.


	6. Chapter 6

Of course the one hour Maura was at home, Jane woke up.

She had gotten the call when she was in the shower and left a message.

"Hi Maura, it's Genevieve. I have some news. There has been a change with Jane. She's awake. I haven't told her anything yet, I wanted to let you do it when you're ready, but you might want to get down here as soon as you can. See you soon, bye."

Maura was frozen in place. Jane was awake.

She couldn't decide if it was a good thing or not that she wasn't there when it happened.

On one side she was sad because she wanted to be the first one Jane saw when she woke up, but she was also relieved because she wasn't quite ready to face the brunette. Facing a sleeping Jane was by far easier than facing one that was awake.

Jane was so hopped up on drugs that by the time Maura had made it back to the hospital, the brunette had already fallen back to sleep.

The doctor was slightly conflicted. Some part of her wanted to stay and be there when Jane woke up again, but the other part of her wanted to leave.

For about five minutes she sat in the same chair she had occupied for a little over two weeks now, as she made her decision.

She decided that Jane was fine, she didn't need Maura to watch over her. She was awake and okay. It was time for Maura to get back to her life. She hadn't been to work in a while and she needed to return to normality.

She dug in her jeans pocket and pulled out the locket Jane had sent back.

When Jane had gotten in the accident, Maura had gone home and dug in her bedside table looking for the package she hadn't looked at since the day she got it in the mail. She found it buried at the very bottom of the drawer and gingerly picked it up. She had sat on her bed and dumped the contents of the package into the palm of her hand. The metal was cold against her palm as she flipped open the locket and ran her finger along the pictures on the inside.

Since that night she had carried the locket with her. She wasn't exactly sure why she did so, but now she was ready to give it back to it's owner.

Maybe this was Maura's way of telling Jane that she was here, that even after everything, Maura was taking care of her.

She stood up and set the locket on the bedside table, took one last hard look at the woman she has loved for so long, and walked out.

Jane woke up nearly an hour after Maura had left.

She slowly opened her eyes and observed her surroundings. A sparkle from the corner of her eye made her turn her head to the right, wincing from the pain as she did so. She slightly gasped as her mind registered what it was.

Her locket.

There was only one person who could have put it there. Maura. She was the one who had it. All at once Jane was overcome with emotion. She could just make out the sweet smell of Maura. The blonde's voice was ringing throughout her head. Maura had been here, it wasn't a dream. She was really here.

Jane could hear voices outside her door. When it opened she quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"Janie, I know you're faking it."

The young brunette cracked one eye open and saw her mother standing with her back to the closed door.

The feeding tube had been taken out so Jane attempted to respond.

"Hi ma," it came out raspier than her normal voice.

Angela took a tentative step closer to her daughter and fidgeted with her hands.

In a blink of an eye the older woman was by Jane's side with tears in her eyes and grabbing for her hand.

"Ma…"

"You scared me, Jane."

The younger Rizzoli looked away from her mother knowing what had happened had truly scared the older woman.

"Janie"

"Please don't ask ma."

"But I have to know. I had no idea you were coming back. You didn't call me or anything and the next thing I knew I was getting a call saying you were in the hospital."

Before Jane could answer, Genevieve entered the room followed by Jane's brothers and partners.

The room was suddenly filled with chatter and sighs of relief as everyone saw for themselves that Jane was truly alive.

As Jane scanned the room the one person she was hoping to see, wasn't there. Maura was nowhere in sight. Maybe her being there was actually a dream. Maybe the blonde's voice and smell were all in her head.

Jane didn't have much time to think about it because people were trying to hug her and talk to her left and right. Right now she needed to focus on the family that is in front of her. She knew that the moment everyone came off of the high from seeing her alive, she would need to explain herself to each and everyone of these people. She hurt them all in different ways when she left and she needed to attempt to make it better. The one thing that was eating away at her, was having to tell her family why she was back in the first place, and why she would be staying.


	7. Chapter 7

Jane had been awake for 3 days now and in that time, Maura had gone back to work to try and return to her normal life. She hadn't gone back to the hospital once and even though Jane had requested to see her (Genevieve had called to inform her), she was determined to put all of this behind her and move on...again.

The thing was, her life wasn't normal anymore. This whole incident had sent her heart and mind back into a state of numbness. Sure, she was able to get work done, but it took her longer than usual and she always found her mind wandering to Jane and how she was doing.

On top of her mind being preoccupied, every time she walked into the station, everyone stared at her. She could feel their eyes boring into her and a few times she caught people whispering. Everyone knew about the relationship she and Jane had before the brunette left, and by now word had spread that Jane was back. Since this was basically the first time Maura had been to work since Jane's return, people were waiting to see her reaction, they expected her to breakdown. She avoided everyone and stayed to herself, packing her own lunches to eat by herself in her office and leaving autopsy results on desks when no one was around so she didn't have to speak to anyone.

Angela had called a few times and each time Maura let it go to voicemail. She was in too much of a vulnerable state to talk to the older woman and she feared that if she talked to her, she would be persuaded to go to the hospital to see Jane.

It was hard to stay away from the hospital. She found that she was actually fighting herself. She wanted to see the brunette again, but she also didn't. She wanted to talk to her again, but also didn't. Most of all she wanted answers, but she also didn't want them. She felt it would be easier to let go if she didn't know why Jane was back, why she'd left in the first place, and why Maura was still her emergency contact, because the truth was, Maura was afraid of the answers. But in a way, it only made things harder. It was a reminder that she couldn't read Jane the way she used to be able to, she couldn't anticipate what Jane's plans were. It reminded her that she and Jane were not what they used to be. She could pretend all she wanted that she was fine, the truth was, she was a complete mess. The day Jane walked into her life all those years ago was the best day of Maura's life, but the day she left, was the worst. Jane was the best and the worst thing that had ever happened to her.

Maura was standing in the middle of her office with her face in her hands, determined to keep the tears at bay, when she felt familiar strong arms wrap around her.

"You should go see her."

Maura wrapped her arms around Frost's waist and cried into his shoulder.

"I don't think I can."

"Maura look it me."

She pulled back so they could see each other. She wiped at her eyes and tried to bring her heart rate down.

"I know it hurts. I know the day she left you fell apart and you're been trying to put yourself back together ever since. But I also know that you can't fully do that until you know the truth, until you get the answers you need. I will support you in whatever you choose, but I think you need to go see her."

Maura stared into his eyes and thought how Jane's leaving hadn't ruined everything. It had brought her closer to this man that knew her so well and she trusted with her life. He was her best friend and she knew he was right, she needed to go see Jane. She needed to know.

"You're right," she whispered.

He gave a half smile and leaned in, kissing her on the forehead before releasing her.

"I always am."

He winked at her and she laughed. He waved goodbye and headed back upstairs.

Maura started to gather up her things preparing to leave for the day. She knew that if she didn't act on her current emotions and sudden rush of adrenaline, she wouldn't go she Jane.

Once she had everything she took the elevator up to the main floor.

Once on the main floor, she exited and began walking toward the doors and her car.

As she was walking by the cafe, she peaked over and noticed that Angela was back working.

Maura hesitated before deciding to stop in and talk to her. She felt bad for ignoring her calls. In the time that she had spent alone, she realized she was acting kind of childish. She wasn't the only one that got hurt when Jane left. They all needed to be there for each other and yet here she was, shutting herself off from everyone.

Angela looked up and noticed the blonde walking in. The older woman gave a small smile as she came around the counter and stood in front of Maura.

"Hi Angela, what are you doing back?"

"Jane said I should come back to work. Frankly I'm glad, it was getting hard for me to be in the same room as her."

There was a pause before Maura blurted out.

"I'm going to see her."

Angela looked as shocked as Maura felt.

"She's been asking for you."

"I know, Genevieve has called me several times informing me of Jane's request."

"What made you decide to go?"

"Barry Frost can be very persuasive when he wants to be."

They both gave slight chuckles at that.

"Plus, I really need some answers."

Angela touched Maura's arm.

"I know you do sweetie, you deserve them."

Maura left Angela in the cafe a few minutes later..

She walked to her car and before she could talk herself out of this, took off for the hospital.

The drive was a hard one. Her hands were shaking bad and her heart was beating wildly in her chest.

She thought about turning around and heading home multiple times, but every time she told herself she deserved answers.

She finally arrived at the hospital and stepped out her car into the chilly air, trying to control her breathing.

Her heart was beating so hard that as she walked into the hospital, past the front desk and into the elevator, she couldn't even hear her heels click on the linoleum floor.

To be honest, she didn't even remember making it to the elevator. One second she was at her car and the next thing she knew, she was standing in front of Jane's closed door.

She wasn't sure how long she was standing in front of that door before she felt a hand on her shoulder that made her jump.

Maura looked to her left and saw Genevieve standing next her her, giving a reassuring smile.

The blonde took a deep breath as the kind doctor walked away to leave her to the task at hand.

She counted to three and grasped the handle, turning it and pushing the door open.

Jane was laying in bed flipping through the TV channels growing increasingly frustrated. She was tired of laying in this hospital bed and tired of the aching feeling in her chest at having to see her family look so broken and knowing she was the reason for that.

She had finally settled on a program when the door opened.

She looked away from the TV and her eyes landed on the woman standing in the doorway.

All of the air seemed to have left the room. Jane lay shocked and motionless in her hospital bed.

"Maura," Jane breathed out.

The blonde looked up to meet Jane's eyes.

Brown locked onto green and a million memories flooded both of their minds at the familiarity in each other's eyes.

"Hi Jane."


	8. Chapter 8

For a brief moment as she stood in the doorway staring at Jane, Maura thought about turning around and running out of there, she was completely overwhelmed by seeing the brunette awake.

Instead of running away however, she took a step closer.

Maura looked Jane up and down observing her appearance. She looked well. Her injuries seemed to be healing nicely and she looked like the same unruly brunette, just maybe a bit skinnier than the last time Maura saw her awake.

"Maura," Jane said again as if she wasn't sure if this was really happening.

"Please Maura, come sit."

Maura's legs moved on their own toward the chair sitting next to the bed, the same chair she had occupied for two weeks.

She tentatively sat down, Jane never taking her eyes off of her as she moved across the room for fear that if she did so, the blonde would disappear.

"I can't believe you're here," Jane said in her raspy voice.

"I could say the same for you."

There was a bite in Maura's tone that made Jane flinch. She had done that. She had made Maura so angry.

"Plus it isn't so weird that I'm here, I was here every day while you were in your coma."

Jane cocked her head slightly to the right. No one had informed her of Maura's visits. She had assumed Maura was there at some point due to the memories when she woke up, but she hadn't known that the blonde was there so frequently.

What Maura had left out was that she didn't go to work and spent every minute minus the short time she spent at home, at Jane's side. She didn't tell Jane how she had just about dropped everything to watch over the brunette and had worried endlessly, barely sleeping at night. She didn't want to give Jane the satisfaction of knowing she could still get to Maura even after she broke her.

"Mau-"

"Look Jane, don't make a big deal about it, I only wanted to make sure you were going to be okay."

The tone of Maura's voice made Jane shrink into herself. On the outside, the blonde still looked like the Maura she had left that day, minus the tiny bags she had under her eyes and the stone cold green orbs that bore into Jane, but on the inside she was different. She was colder and had a wall around her heart. It broke Jane's heart to see what she had done. Her sweet Maura was gone and in her place was a broken woman.

"Why are you staring at me like that Jane?"

The brunette blushed and looked away.

"Sorry, I was just thinking…"

"Yeah me too. In fact, I haven't stopped thinking since the day you left. I've been trying to figure out why you left me. I've been trying to figure out what's wrong with me, what I did wrong."

"I-"

Maura cut her off, already midway through her rant and she couldn't stop the adrenaline that was coursing through her.

"Look Jane I came here to ask you w-"

There was knock at the door that stopped Maura from finishing the rest of her sentence.

stuck her head with an awkward smile on her face.

"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you, but Maura I think you should come out here."

The blonde quickly glanced at Jane before pushing herself out of the chair and following Genevieve out into the hall, closing the door behind her.

The sight she was met with almost made her laugh. The Rizzoli family arguing in the hallway reminded Maura of family dinners and times at the bar when everyone would argue over the stupidest things, but it was always quite funny.

They were a little ways down from the room, probably to keep Jane from hearing their conversation. Tommy was leaning against the same wall as the door to Jane's room, Frankie was leaning against the wall opposite him, and Angela was sitting in a chair next to Frankie looking tired and stressed. Maura and Genevieve stood a little off to the side.

"Jane is being discharged in two days and needs somewhere to stay."

"Well she can't stay at my house ma."

"Yeah ma, she can't stay with me either I've got a lot going on."

"Well all the hotels are booked for some event that's happening and my house is too small, she needs somewhere to stay."

There was a pause as everyone was trying to figure out the best arrangement.

"She can stay at my house."

Everyone's heads whipped around to the blonde standing in the corner.

Maura looked around at everyone staring at her with wide eyes trying to find who had said that. Her eyes slowly widened as she realized the words had come out of her mouth. Had she really meant to say that? She wasn't even thinking, she just blurted it out.

Maura closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Through gritted teeth she said, "My house is plenty big, I have the guest bedroom that is open for her to use. I don't want you all to have to go through a lot of trouble when I have a place for her to stay."

Angela stood up and walked toward Maura.

"Maura no. We can't ask you to do that."

"You didn't ask, I offered. This is the best option."

"We can't let you do this, Maur," Frankie said like the concerned brother he always has been to Maura.

"Frankly you guys don't have a choice. There's an open room in my house, she'll stay there. I'll be here to pick her up when she gets discharged."

"You'll need to sign some paperwork before I can release her to you," Dr. Tanner threw in.

"I'll be back tomorrow to sign those, if that's okay."

Before getting an answer she turned on her heel and swiftly walked down the hall toward the elevators before anyone could see how shaky she was and her watery eyes.

She stepped into the elevator and as soon as the doors were closed and she was alone, the tears began to fall.

This was not part of the plan to move on. All she wanted was some answers and now the woman who broke her heart would be staying at her house.

What had she just done?


	9. Chapter 9

The next day Maura used her lunch break to head back to the hospital to fill out the papers for Jane to be discharged.

She headed upstairs and straight to 's office, smiling at the receptionist as she went by, being that the two had become slightly familiar with each other over the last several weeks.

Maura knocked on the half open door of 's office.

"Maura! Hi, please come in!"

The ME walked in and looked around at the office. Genevieve's office was a lot like Maura's. She had masks on the wall and all kinds of trinkets displayed.

Genevieve gestured to the chair.

"Please please sit. Sorry, I was just eating my lunch."

"Oh I'm sorry, I can come back."

"No no please stay! Did you have lunch?"

"I have not, I was just going to have a snack back at the office."

"Please, have some of mine, I have plenty."

"Oh no, I couldn't take your lunch."

"Please, I insist."

Genevieve pushed a tupperware bowl across the desk and in front of Maura. The blonde slightly chuckled at what was inside, a kale salad.

"I'm sorry, do you not like kale?"

"I love it! I can never find anyone else who likes it. And the masks! They're amazing! I have some in my office as well."

"Thank you, I quite enjoy them as well."

They settled into a comfortable silence as both women ate their lunches.

Genevieve broke the silence a few minutes later.

"So you're here to sign the papers for Jane to be discharged."

Maura sighed before answering.

"Yes, I am."

"You know, she talks about you alot."

"Good for her."

"Maura she really misses you."

"You know the story, her and I aren't a thing anymore. She blew that."

"So you two are really just done?"

"Yes."

"Maura, I'm asking because I feel you and I have become somewhat close and I'm worried about you, so are you okay? With this whole situation? Because I'm sure I could pull a few strings and get her placed elsewhere."

Maura looked up at Genevieve through her eyelashes and gave a small smile.

"Thank you Genevieve, for everything. I'll be okay though. It might take a while, but I'll be fine. Angela said two weeks tops, I can handle it."

"Well listen, you have my number. If you ever need anything, I'll be here."

Maura reached across the desk and placed her hand on Genevieve's forearm.

"Thank you so much."

After signing the paperwork, Maura decided to stop in to see Jane. She wasn't exactly sure why, but something led her to the brunette's room.

As she was walking down the hallway Genevieve spotted her and quickly walked after her with a grin on her face.

"Maura!"

Genevieve stopped Maura just a few steps away from the the door.

"So I hope this isn't awkward, but I was wondering if you'd maybe like to go to dinner sometime?"

Maura was a little bit taken aback. When she'd first met , she thought the redhead was very attractive and of course incredibly sweet, but she never thought the doctor felt the same. However, the interaction the two just had was a sign that there could be something more between them.

The blonde smiled and she could feel the blush creeping up her neck.

"I would love to."

"How about tomorrow night at 7? At Maricio's?"

Maura thought for a second about the fact that Jane would be at her house alone. Then she thought, who cares? Frankly, she could use an excuse to be away from Jane. Going on a date with a beautiful woman is just the distraction she needs.

"Sounds perfect. I'll see you then."

The door was open to Jane's room and she had heard everything between Maura and Genevieve in the hall. She had so many emotions running through her. She was jealous and angry, not that she really had a right. Everyone was right, Jane had left Maura and now the blonde was moving on.

When Maura walked in Jane couldn't help the cold shoulder she gave the blonde.

"Hi Jane," Maura said chirpily.

"You're happy."

"It's a good day. You get to go home tomorrow, you should be too."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Well for one, going on a date with my doctor of all people."

"She's incredibly nice and I like her. You don't have any right to an opinion on my love life. You lost that right when you left me two years ago."

"Then why are you taking me in. Clearly we can't me in a room together for more than five minutes without fighting. How do you think we're going to handle being in the same house? I didn't ask you to do this."

"Look Jane, I don't want this anymore than you do, but I'm just trying to make it easier on everyone. Your mom has been through alot and I don't want to put her through anymore. Can't you just be thankful? You owe me that much! I'm going on a date with Genevieve and you're staying at my house. Deal with it! I'll be here tomorrow to pick you up. It's your choice whether you want to come or not."

Maura stormed out of the room too livid to look at Jane anymore.

Watching Maura walk out of her hospital room brought back a lot of memories for Jane. The day she walked away from Maura was the hardest day of her life. She never loved Casey, she never would. She never told Maura the truth about what happened that day and the night before, she tried, but Maura would never hear her out. Frankly, Jane didn't blame her. She would keep the secret to herself, Maura deserved to move on and be happy. That's all Jane ever wanted, for Maura to be happy. The truth didn't need to come out, even though it hurt Jane to keep it in. She loved Maura and always would.


	10. Chapter 10

_Hi everyone! I want to thank you all so much for the great feedback, I love reading all of your thoughts! I know my chapters are shorter than most people's, and I'm sorry for that. I just have this weird OCD thing about my chapters being over 1,400 words. Don't ask me why, because I don't know. Also, can we acknowledge the fact that I've been updating like crazy?! And for those of you that are worried about Rizzles and all that jazz, have I ever let you guys down before? ;) Happy reading! Xx -F_

* * *

Maura woke up in a panic. She had barely slept all night, too stressed out about Jane to get some sleep. At about four in the morning she finally fell into a dead sleep only to wake up two hours later with a headache and long day ahead.

She didn't have to pick up Jane until three so she went downstairs and busied herself around the house. After making a cup of coffee she walked down the hallway next to the kitchen. She passed by the guest bedroom and peaked inside. Once she passed it, she turned around and passed it again. Again she turned and passed it. She paced in front of the guestroom a few more times before she stopped directly in front of it.

She hadn't been inside this room since the day Jane left. When Jane walked out of the house that day, Maura had gone into the guestroom and thrown the sheets and pillows around the room as she cried and screamed.

The guestroom was kind of Jane's place. Every time she had needed some space that's where she had gone. Before Maura and Jane had started dating, that's where the brunette had stayed most of the time. When Jane had been injured, that's where she stayed. The whole room belonged to Jane, so when she left, Maura went to destroy it.

An hour later, after she had her meltdown and downed a bottle of wine, she went back into the room to clean it up and it had been that way ever since.

So now with Jane coming back it was hard enough for Maura to even look at the room let alone go inside.

She let her eyes wander around the room as she tilted her head. She contemplated going in but eventually just shook her head and walked back to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later she walked back to the room and forced herself inside.

The second she crossed the threshold her anxiety spiked again. She could picture the brunette laying on the bed sprawled out with her crazy hair covering her face. She rubbed at her face trying to keep her emotions at bay. It was going to be a long day and she didn't need to start it out by crying. She moved around the room and made sure everything was ready to go for the night and weeks ahead.

Once she was done with the room she moved on to the bathroom and made sure it was clean and fully stocked with the essentials.

By the time she was done with everything in the house that she could possibly find to be cleaned it was ten. She still had five hours to go and nothing to do to keep her mind off of it.

At ten thirty Maura was sitting on the couch flipping through a magazine and paying absolutely no attention to the content when there was a knock at the front door.

She tossed the magazine on the coffee table and walked to the door looking through the side window before opening it.

As soon as the door was open she was engulfed into a tight hug.

"Hey"

"Hi Frankie"

She snuggled into the hug feeling comfortable and at peace for the first time all day, maybe even the first time since Jane had been back.

He released her and stepped back.

"I just wanted to check on you"

"Please, come in."

He walked in and went to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee. While he was at it he filled her cup. He took his cup and went around to sit on one of the stools. She stood leaning against the wall smirking as she watched him move about her kitchen.

He looked up at her when he realized she hadn't walked in after him.

"What?"

"It's just funny. Even after the years of Jane being gone and everything that's happened you still come by and check on me and you're still a huge part of my life."

"Of course! Whether you like it or not you're still my sister and you're stuck with me."

She smiled as she pushed off the wall and went to stand across from him at the island.

"Anyway, how are you doing?"

"I'm actually doing better than I thought I would be. I just keep telling myself that it's only two weeks."

"Are you taking more time off work?"

"I put in to have the first five days off, but the rest of the time she's here I'd like to go back to work."

"Maura you shouldn't be taking this on. You of all people shouldn't be."

"Frankie look, for some odd reason I feel like I need to. There are some answers I need from her and I feel like this is the only way I'm going to get them."

"Well I'm proud of you for being so strong and for being the bigger person."

"Thank you."

Just then Frankie's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered.

"Rizzoli"

Maura sadly smiled at the memory that was brought to her mind. Jane used to answer her calls just like that.

"I'll be right there."

Maura looked up from her coffee just as Frankie hung up the phone.

"I have to go."

"Have fun with "

"Ha ha very funny Maura."

He walked around the island and wrapped her in another hug and kissed the top of her head before walking to the door and calling over his shoulder.

"Love you!'

"Love you too."

He stopped at the door and turned to face her.

"And hey if you need anything, don't even hesitate to call me."

"Thank You."

He gave one last smile before disappearing to the crime scene that she should be at.

By the time Frankie left it was almost noon.

She fixed herself some lunch and by the time she was done making and eating it, it was twelve thirty. She sighed and headed upstairs to get ready to head to the hospital.


	11. Chapter 11

_Sorry for the long buildup, I know it's been frustrating a lot of you, but hey we need foundation! As always, thank you for sticking with me. I promise it won't be much longer before the big moment. Happy reading! Xx -F_

* * *

The second Maura pulled into the hospital parking lot she regretted everything. She regretted her decision of letting Jane stay at her house and she regretted not just moving on.

She arrived to the hospital fifteen minutes early so it gave her time to talk herself into going in and following through with the plan.

Two weeks. It was going to be two weeks, she could do this.

Five minutes until three she finally got the nerve to head in.

By the time she reached Jane's floor, her whole body was shaking.

"Hey"

Maura jumped. She hadn't even seen Genevieve come up to her, she was too focused on making it to Jane's room without breaking down.

"Hi"

"She's ready for you."

There wasn't much Maura could do so she just nodded and stepped into Jane's room.

There she was, sitting on her bed looking like the same old Jane just a bit beat up.

"Hey Maura, you look beautiful."

The blonde was wearing plain denim jeans and an over sized maroon sweatshirt with converse. She had applied light makeup and to top it off her hair was thrown into a messy ponytail.

She scoffed, "Flattery will get you nowhere."

She may have said that, but deep down the butterflies that hadn't flapped their wings in a long time were now making themselves known.

She had always known that Jane loved her in laid back clothes, and maybe that's why she wore this particular outfit today. She didn't intentionally do it, but she would admit the look Jane gave her was something she missed.

Maura averted her gaze when she realized she was staring at Jane.

"Anyway, are you ready?"

"Yes, please get me out of here."

Genevieve met them at the elevators with the friendly smile she always had on her face.

"Alright Jane, well how about you keep yourself out of trouble?"

"I'll try my best doc. Can't make any promises."

"And Maura, I'll see you later."

Jane gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes before Maura pulled her into the elevator.

The car ride home was mostly silent. At first Jane tried to talk to Maura.

"Maura, I really appreciate this and all, but I really don't understand why you're doing this."

"Well you don't need to."

That was the end of the conversation and the rest of the ride was completely silent, but Maura was bursting with questions that she was more than ready to be answered. She gripped the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles were white as she tried to keep her mouth shut.

She wanted to wait, she didn't want to do this in the car.

She could feel Jane staring at her every once in awhile but she kept her eyes locked on the road.

After what felt like hours and too many red lights, they finally pulled into the driveway.

Jane sucked in a sharp breath when she spotted the house.

After so long, she was back. The only place she ever truly felt at home and here she was, scared to go inside.

Maura stepped out of the car and Jane followed a few steps behind.

Jane let her eyes wander over everything. It all looked the same.

She hadn't realized Maura had walked inside until the blonde appeared in the doorway and cleared her throat.

"You know when I said you could stay here, I didn't mean outside. You are allowed to come inside."

Jane actually laughed and immediately regretted it as pain shot through her chest, but the sight of Maura's lips slightly twitching upward has worth it.

Jane walked up to the door and took as deep of a breath as she could before crossing the threshold.

Maura spoke up behind her as Jane took in her surroundings.

"You um- you know where the guest room is."

Jane nodded, not trusting her voice. Her eyes filled with tears and she angrily wiped them away. She shouldn't be crying. SHE left all of this behind, she had no right to be upset about walking into this house.

"You can head down there, I'll be there in a minute."

Jane numbly walked down the hall to the guest bedroom.

Maura disappeared up the stairs and returned a few minutes later in the doorway with a box of Jane's stuff that she had kept in the very back of her closet, yet another thing she couldn't get rid of when the brunette left.

She dropped the box in the doorway and Jane jumped.

"There's some of your old clothes in there."

Jane nervously looked at the box and then at Maura.

"Thanks."

Maura was leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed squinting at Jane.

"How do we always end up in this position?"

Jane cocked her head to the side, thoroughly confused by Maura's question.

"What?"

"Why is it that every time you're hurt or need something, you end up at my house?"

Jane opened her mouth to say something, but immediately closed it. What was there to say?

"Look Jane, I don't regret the years that we spent together, but I am glad that we're through."

Maura could visibly see the pain Jane was feeling and in some sick way, it made her relieved. She would never wish anything bad on Jane, but it wasn't right for Maura to be the only one that was broken.

She didn't give Jane a chance to respond. She quickly turned and left Jane to stare at the spot the blonde just occupied.

Maura didn't have time to think of how Jane was feeling. She needed to process what she had just said. Of course she loved Jane, but was she really glad they were through? The relationship they had before was wonderful, but maybe they shouldn't have started to date. Maybe that's what ruined everything.

She didn't have time for this right now, she had a date to get ready for.

* * *

 _Hey! Also I have an account on 8tracks dedicated to my ships, you should check it out for good music that reminds you of Rizzles. My username is LittleMissFangirl. If you don't know what 8tracks is, it's a website/app that lets you listen to playlists for all sorts of situations and moods! It's pretty cool!_


	12. Chapter 12

Jane was in the kitchen when Maura quickly walked down the stairs and out the door. The brunette had caught just a glimpse of Maura, but even so, she looked amazing. Jane had never seen someone as beautiful as Maura and how she ever let her go would always be a mystery.

Maura would be lying if she said she wasn't excited for her date. It was the first one in a while that she actually felt hopeful about. She had gone on a few dates within the first year that Jane had left but they were all awkward and nothing ever happened after the dates.

Maura arrived at the restaurant right on time and didn't see Genevieve so she grabbed a table and ordered some wine as she waited.

Ten minutes later the redhead walked into the restaurant and waved as she spotted Maura.

"Maura I am so sorry I'm late, I got held up at the hospital."

"It's absolutely fine! You're not that late, don't worry about it."

"Ten minutes. I'm ten minutes late."

"Please, Genevieve it's okay."

"You look beautiful by the way."

Maura blushed and smiled.

"Thank you. You look wonderful as well."

They talked for a few minutes before ordering and as they waited for their food, they talked some more.

Maura found herself really enjoying her time with Genevieve. She wasn't sure if she liked Genevieve in a relationship kind of way, but she did enjoy the other woman's company and as the night progressed she felt the stress melting away.

At one point Genevieve set her fork down and looked at Maura.

"Look Maura, I like you. A lot. But I think there is some unfinished business between you and Jane. You both still clearly have feelings for eachother and I don't want to come between that."

"Then why did you ask me to dinner?"

"I was hoping it would make the two of you realize that you still want to be together and there is no one else you'd rather be with. Plus, I know you've been under a lot of stress lately and I thought you deserved a nice night out."

Maura kind of gave a chuckle.

"You're mischievous."

"I know."

They both laughed.

"Look, I realize you and Jane don't really need help realizing your feelings for eachother, Lord knows there's enough sexual tension for the world to realize, I guess my goal was to talk to you about this. I know you and Jane have gone through a lot, I get it. I just think you should at least consider trying again. Jane and I have already sort of talked about it, so I know she wants to."

"Wait you've talked to Jane?"

"Um yes, I have. Like I mentioned before, she talks about you a lot."

Maura looked down at her half eaten dinner and her fork that was currently moving the food around the plate.

"What have you- what have you talked about?"

"Well for starters she told me about the day you met. You should have seen the look on her face when she told me the story, the biggest smile I've ever seen. She also told me about all the time she's spent thinking about you in the last couple of years. I know the two of you haven't talked this through, so I'm not telling you everything because I think she should, but I just wanted you to know that she really cares about you and maybe you should hear her side of the story."

Maura tilted her head to the side and squinted at her dinner guest.

Genevieve was avoiding the blonde's gaze. Jane had told Genevieve about everything, the secret she'd been hiding these past two years.

The redhead smiled and took a sip of her wine.

The rest of the time they talked more about their lives and what they enjoyed doing, but Maura couldn't get what Genevieve said out of her head. Did she know something?

At the end of the date the two women walked out together.

"Maura, can you just think about it? Talking to Jane I mean."

"I had planned to talk to her but not necessarily about our relationship."

Genevieve smiled and leaned in to give Maura a kiss on the cheek.

"I had a really great time tonight."

"Me too, thank you for asking me to dinner."

On the drive home Maura thought about everything with Jane. She wanted to be with Jane, she always had and probably always would, but after all that had happened, she wasn't sure it was the best decision. She still felt it was the right thing to talk to her, and maybe she could let the brunette tell her side of the story.

As Maura pulled into the driveway the sky unleashed buckets of water. She hurriedly ran inside and flipped on the lights.

"How was your date?"

Maura jumped. She looked at the watch on her wrist, it read 11 pm. She hadn't expected Jane to wait up, she was actually hoping the brunette would be asleep.

The blonde rounded the corner and her eyes landed on Jane sitting on the couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table, just like old times.

"It went really well, thank you for asking."

Maura hadn't realized it at first, but Jane was avoiding looking her in the eyes. After a moment of awkward silence Maura turned and gestured to the stairs.

"I'm going to go to bed."

She had just turned her back when Jane blurted after her.

"Why did you go on a date with me here? With my doctor?"

Maura felt the anger boil inside of her as she quickly turned back around to face Jane.

"You don't have a right to ask me those questions. You don't have a right to accuse me and make me feel like I'M the one that did something wrong. We dated for a year Jane! Not only that, but we've been friends for so long, and you left! YOU LEFT ME JANE!"

She didn't mean to raise her voice, but the anger just kept coming, and frankly, it felt good to get it out.

"WHY DID YOU EVEN COME BACK JANE?! TO TEAR MY HEART OUT SOME MORE? WHY? WHY'D YOU COME BACK?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU MAURA! I LOVE YOU! I'VE ALWAYS LOVED YOU AND I WILL NEVER STOP!"

Silence. Everything stopped. They stared at each other, both women breathing heavily.

Jane took one step toward Maura and in three long strides she pulled the blonde to her.

Their mouths crashed together in a desperate kiss.

Maura pushed away and took a step back.

"Jane I can't," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Maura, I love you."

Jane took a step towards Maura and just as she did the blonde took a step back.

"Please don't."

Jane clenched her fists and hung her head and when she looked up again she saw the retreating form of Maura.


	13. Chapter 13

_Hi guys. I'm done torturing you, let's get to the good stuff shall we? Happy reading! Xx -F_

* * *

Acting impulsively was Jane's thing. She never put much thought into what she was doing before she did it. She impulsively left Maura to be with Casey. She impulsively left Casey to come back to Maura. She impulsively kissed Maura last night. Now here she was, impulsively walking through BPD. The second she entered everyone stopped and stared at her. The last time she was in this building she was packing up her things and leaving for what she thought would be forever.

Everything looked the same. It seemed just like yesterday that she walked in for the first time. She never stopped loving BPD, it was her favorite thing in the whole world (Aside from Maura). But Maura was half the reason she loved this place so much. Casey took this away from her. He took everything away from her and it was her fault. She didn't have to listen to him, she didn't have to be with him. She hated him for it, but she hated herself more.

"Jane?"

She looked over to where Frost was just coming out of the cafe.

She smiled awkwardly, "Hi."

He walked over to her and she could tell he was contemplating whether to give her a hug or not.

"Hi. Um what are you doing here?"

"I'm not totally sure. I just kind of left Maura's and started walking and ended up here."

"Would you like to go upstairs?"

She looked toward the elevators, feeling dizzy and overwhelmed, and then looked back to him.

"Actually, could we just go outside and talk or something?"

"Uh sure."

She followed him out the doors and into the fresh air. She took a deep breath and immediately felt better.

He sat down on the bench that was off to the side and patted the space next to him.

Jane hesitated and then sat, sitting as far from him as she could.

"Maura's gonna be so mad when she finds out you walked here."

Jane's lips twitched into a slight smile knowing all too well how much Maura was going to freak out.

"So uh, how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. Still feeling a little bit of pain, but I'm alright. It's weird to be here though."

"Well I'm glad you're feeling better."

They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes before Frost spoke up.

"Look, when you and Maura broke up, you didn't just leave her. You left all of us. Did you ever think about that? You left so many people behind. We were all so heartbroken. But Maura…"

He stopped and hung his head, "She was so- so broken. So whatever you're doing back and whatever your intentions are, just don't hurt her, she doesn't need that."

He stood up and walked to the doors, not even turning to look back.

When Maura woke up, she had thought maybe the night before was all a dream. She touched her lips and threw a pillow over her face, screaming into it.

Things were not supposed to be this complicated.

She got up and wrapped herself in her robe, desperate for a cup of coffee, but too afraid to confront Jane first thing in the morning.

She cracked open her bedroom door and listened for any noises.

After nearly a minute she rolled her eyes at her behavior. This is her house, she should not be acting like a teenager.

On her way downstairs she glanced over in the direction of Jane's room and noticed the bed seemed empty.

She walked into the the kitchen, looking into the living room as she went. When there was no sign of the brunette in those areas, she walked down the hallway peeking into Jane's room.

There was no sign of her anywhere. Maura started to panic. Jane should not be walking around while she's still recovering.

Maura quickly ran upstairs and got changed, ready to go out and search for Jane.

Just as she opened the front door, she saw Jane walking down the sidewalk towards the house.

She noticed Maura in the doorway and stopped at the edge of the lawn.

"I was just uh-"

"We need to talk."

Jane nodded and walked up the drive and to the porch, sitting on the step next to Maura.

They sat in silence for a short time before Jane took a deep breath and began the story she'd kept inside for so long.

"That morning, when I left, I didn't do it for Casey… I did it for you."

"How the hell was leaving for me?"

"Listen Maura, I was scared. I was selfish and scared. I left to be with him because I was scared to hurt you and then I ended up hurting you and I guess I kind of knew that you would be hurt but I thought you would move on and find someone who could treat you the way you needed to be treated. You deserve to be treated like a princess. Paddy asked to see me a few days before I left. So I went to meet him and talk to him. He told me that he had found out you and I were together. He said that I was no good for you and I would probably end up getting you killed. I thought a lot about it, about what her said, and I figured he was right. I'm a walking disaster, Maura, I've already almost gotten you killed! I've been so scared so many times that I was going to lose you and when Paddy said that, it just kind of hit me. He told me before that if anything happened to you, that he'd hold me responsible. Maura, I love you. So much. You're the most important person in my life and I just want you safe. That's all I want. If leaving you meant that you were going to be safe, then so be it. After my meeting with Paddy I didn't plan to go anywhere. I was just worried. But then Casey kept texting me and so I went to see him the night before I left. He had been calling for a few days so I went to tell him that I was with you and I didn't want him to contact me ever again. I told him that I was in love with you. He asked me if you loved me back and I said you did. He said that he wanted to try again, he and I. He asked me to be with him. I scoffed at him and walked away. I heard him yell after me that I wasn't right for you. I was spooked. Between the two of them I was questioning what we were doing, that I was right for you. I thought that I was bad for you. I didn't move with him to Maine, I moved there myself. I didn't run away with him. I know you think I moved there with him. I guess I kind of wanted you to think that, thought it would be easier for you to move on, to be happy. I moved to Maine on my own to start a life. You always said it was something that you wanted and I thought maybe if I went and got a house and started a life there that someday you and I would meet again and you'd get the life you wanted. He moved there shortly after I did. He tracked me down and came to my house asking me to be with him. I knew how mad you were with me and after thinking it over I knew I wanted you to move on and be happy. I didn't want to burden you with my recklessness anymore. I'm going to be honest with you, I think there was a part of me that still loved him. Maybe I didn't love him exactly. I loved the familiarity of being with him, the fact that I wouldn't have to start over with someone new. When we got together, I wasn't happy, but I wasn't lonely anymore and I guess that's all I wanted. Just over the one year mark things started to get rocky. He began drinking a lot and eventually got rough with me. He would beat me and tell me how stupid I was. I tried to leave about a month after it started, but he wouldn't let me go. Over the course of the two years that you and I were apart, I wrote you many letters that I never sent. They were all things I wanted to tell you but since I had decided to never burden you again, I never sent them to you. I kept them hidden in a special place afraid that if he found them he would get violent. On the day I left him he had beat me that morning. What made me leave was what he said about you. He rarely brought you up when he was yelling at me and when he did it was only to tell me that I never made you happy and that you were much better off without the disgrace that I am. This time though he said things about you that I don't care to repeat. I left while he was passed out on the couch. The beatings were nothing compared to the verbal abuse aimed towards you. Why I didn't leave before, I'm not really sure. I guess I was just scared he'd come after me or you. I know that I hurt you and I don't expect to get back together or anything, I just...I love you Maura and all I want is for you to be happy and safe."

Maura was shocked. She had no idea what to say.

"Jane...I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

They sat in more silence, shivering as a light drizzle began to fall around them.

Maura stood up and turned toward Jane.

"I have to process."

Jane watched as the blonde walked down the driveway and got in her car, pulling out into the gloomy morning.


	14. Chapter 14

As Jane had watched Maura drive away, the only thing she could think was that no pain would ever compare to the pain she felt at being rejected by Maura.

She wanted to go for a run and try to clear her mind just for the time being. As she started to get up the familiar ache in her chest reminded her that she was in no state to go for a run.

There was nothing else she could do but go back inside, let her thoughts eat her away, and wait for Maura to get back.

Maura drove around Boston for what felt like hours, but when she looked at the clock in her car it pointed out that she'd only been driving for about 20 minutes.

Her head was spinning.

Ironically all she wanted to do was sit somewhere in the rain, like when Jane had first come back.

It had started to rain harder and the sky grew increasingly darker as the clouds devoured the sky.

As she drove through the city, she noticed a small cafe. Realizing that she never had her coffee, she parked and ran through the rain into the cafe.

Once she ordered and recieved the hot liquid, she went back outside and sat underneath the awning so she could listen to the rain as it fell around her and think everything through.

She was angry. In three ways. She was angry at Jane for leaving her and for thinking that she wasn't good enough for the blonde. She was also angry at Paddy for getting involved in her love life and thinking he had any right to contact Jane and scare her. She of course was also mad at Casey for being such an ass. How could he treat Jane the way he did? She finally knew why he wasn't calling when Jane got into the accident. He didn't care about her. She could picture Jane taking the beatings and being miserable and it broke her heart. Before Maura knew it, tears were rolling down her face.

After a while she couldn't handle being alone with her thoughts. She wanted company and only one person popped into her mind.

Fifteen minutes later the familiar face was running across the street towards Maura, her red hair bouncing under her hood.

"Hi"

Maura smiled and instantly felt more relaxed. Something about Genevieve made the blonde feel more at ease. She was the first friend that Maura actually felt comfortable around since Jane.

"Please sit, I need some company. Can I buy you a coffee?"

"Oh no, thank you though. I'm probably super over caffeinated."

They sat in silence for a second, Genevieve letting Maura talk when she was ready, and Maura trying to figure out what to say.

"Thank you for coming."

"Of course. Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

"Well last night Jane kissed me."

"Oh my gosh. What did you do?"

"I freaked out and pushed her away. She told me how much she loves me and I didn't say anything except for that I can't do this. I just walked away and left her standing there."

"Are you okay?"

"I honestly don't know. I don't know how to feel. This morning we talked and she told me…"

Maura trailed off when she realized that Jane probably hadn't told anyone else. She was so scared to tell Maura that the blonde couldn't imagine that anyone else knew. Though she was still mad at Jane and hurt, it wasn't her place to talk about the brunette's personal life with anyone else. She would never do that to Jane.

But as Maura stared into Genevieve's eyes and the redhead gave her a sad smile, there was understanding.

"You know don't you?"

Genevieve nodded.

"I told you we talked a lot. She opened up to me. She broke down. That's why I told you to talk to her, that's why I wanted you to hear what she had to say. I understand that she broke your heart and you may never forgive her, but in a way she broke her own heart too. It took a lot for her to make that decision and I know it may not seem like it. It may seem like she just heard somebody tell her she wasn't good enough and she ran, but she already felt that before anyone said anything and I guess hearing it from other people made her feel worse and made her truly believe that she wasn't good for you. I'm not taking her side, but I do understand where she is coming from."

Every part of Maura was telling her to forgive Jane and run back to her, except for the little piece of her brain that was reminding her of the way she felt when Jane left. How broken she was. But as the rain fell around her and couples walked through the rain holding hands under their umbrellas, she realized that she would never have that because all she wanted was to be with Jane. And even though they may never get back together, she couldn't let the opportunity of the love of her life living in her house, confessing her love to her, pass. She didn't go after Jane the first time, and she would admit to anyone that she regretted that, so she wasn't going to let Jane leave a second time without telling her how she truly felt. But Jane winning back her love and trust wouldn't be as easy as it was before. There was a new wall around her heart that Jane would have to break through. Just because Maura was going to tell Jane how she felt, didn't mean that she forgave her and was ready to get back together right away, or even at all for that matter. It meant that she was ready to move on.

When she got home, it was late. She hadn't realized how long she had stayed at the the cafe, but when she left the rain had stopped and the moon was starting to peek out from behind the fading clouds.

She silently opened the front door and saw Jane sitting on the bottom step of the staircase. She dropped her stuff on the little table by the door. Walking over to Jane she sunk to her knees in front of the brunette. The former detective finally lifted her head and looked at Maura. Her eyes were red and puffy and there were tear stains on her cheeks.

"I don't know what this means for us. I am so mad at you for leaving and listening to everyone else. All that should have mattered was what I thought. I loved you Jane and you broke my heart. I know that you've always had insecurities about being able to protect me, but I always trusted you. I'm sorry that you went through all of that with Casey. It makes me so angry that he did that to you."

Maura paused and took a deep breath, assuring herself this is what she wanted.

"I want you to stay here with me."

"Maura I-"

"No, stop. Listen. You are welcome here for as long as you need it. If you decide that you want to leave when you feel up to it, I will understand. But this doesn't mean that we're back together or that I completely forgive you."

"I understand. Thank you Maura, but I don't want to be a burden in your life."

She dropped her head into her hands and Maura's heart broke at the sight.

"Jane look at me."

The brunette slowly lifted her head to meet Maura's green orbs.

"You have never been, and will never be a burden in my life."

Maura leaned forward and kissed Jane on the cheek. She felt the brunette slightly jump from her touch. The fact that Jane was so afraid of unexpected touches because of Casey, made Maura's heart hurt. She quickly made her way up the stairs, covering her mouth with her hand to try to hold back the sob that was threatening to come out.


	15. Chapter 15

Maura was oddly relaxed when she woke up in the morning. Although she had spent the beginning of her night crying, she ended up falling into a deep sleep. All night she dreamt of one person.

And as if on cue she heard the clanging of dishes and the faint sounds of cursing downstairs.

A smile crept onto her face as she climbed out of bed.

Making her way down the steps she found that the sounds were coming from the kitchen.

She crossed the threshold and stopped in her tracks.

Jane's back was to Maura as she fought with the coffee maker, obviously very determined to make a cup of the hot liquid.

Maura smiled wider and leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms as she stared on.

After a moment the sound of coffee could be heard pouring into the cup waiting underneath the maker.

Clearly having conquered the feud between herself and the coffee machine Jane let out a triumphant hoot and did a little dance to celebrate.

Maura continued staring, very much amused.

She felt a flutter in her chest, feeling content in the moment.

Jane turned around so she was facing Maura and caught sight of a figure standing in the doorway. She looked up startled and smiled shyly, looking up through her lashes.

"Hi. I uh wanted to make you some coffee and have it ready when you got up, but it took me a little while to figure out the coffee maker."

Maura stared on at the flustered former badass detective and the steaming cup of coffee sitting on the counter and felt the wall around her heart fall a little more.

It was that Monday morning that Maura stood in the entryway of the kitchen watching Jane dance around in her shorts, tshirt, and wild hair, that the blonde knew it was all over. She was falling in love again. And in her heart she knew that no matter what happened between them, Maura would always love Jane.

But she wasn't ready for the feelings to take over. So she thanked Jane for the coffee and took it upstairs with her back to her room. She closed the door and sat on her bed, rubbing one hand over her face. She wanted to love Jane, she really did, but there was a big part of her that was still hurt. It was going to take a more than coffee to close up the hole in her heart.

And in the meantime Jane would prove she wasn't going to give up.

As the days progressed Maura would wake up to find coffee or a full breakfast on the island in the kitchen.

Jane had become healthier and was healing faster. Her doctor gave her clearance to begin light exercise. So every morning she would get up, put on her workout clothes, and go for a walk around the neighborhood. But always before she left the house she would leave the treats for Maura. With the goodies she would leave a note reassuring the blonde that she had only gone for a walk and would never leave the way she had again. She always worried that Maura would wake up to find Jane gone and begin to panic. She hated that she had caused that fear and vowed to never make Maura feel that way again.

The first note Jane left only read:

 _Gone for a walk, be back soon_

 _-Jane_

Maura would admit she was a bit worried when she woke up that first morning and Jane wasn't anywhere to be found, but when she found the breakfast and the note, she immediately relaxed.

Since Jane had been cleared to do more on her own, Maura felt it was okay to go back to work for a few hours a day. She thought that work would give her time to be away from Jane and figure out what she wanted.

Things seemed to be going well, they had settled into their little routine and they were actually happy.

But happiness only lasts so long.

On the first night of the second week since the women had started talking, Maura heard sobbing seeping its way up the stairs. It jarred her from her sleep. At first she couldn't quite figure out what was going on, but then her brain registered that there was another person living in her house.

She made her way downstairs and peeked into Jane's room. The brunette was laying in the fetal position crying into her pillow. She didn't appear to be awake, but she was clearly in distress.

Maura hesitated in the doorway before she made her way to the empty side of the bed.

And that's when she saw it. Jane's shirt was pulled up just enough to reveal a scar that stretched from the right side of the brunette's hip all to the opposite side and up her back, disappearing under her shirt. Somehow Maura knew the scar wasn't from the accident. She reached out to touch the raised skin and immediately pulled her hand back when she realized what she was doing.

A hot rage overcame Maura. A rage she'd never felt before.

Something inside of her told her that Casey had done this to Jane.

Jane continued to sob into her pillow. Maura looked to the door and back to Jane before climbing onto the bed next to the brunette. She lay facing Jane's back, looking over the scar. She reached out and gently rested her fingers on the warm skin. She began to rub Jane's back in an attempt to console her. After a few minutes the sobs began to die down into soft whimpers and eventually the brunette's breathing evened out.

Maura quietly climbed back out of the bed, looking over he shoulder at the sleeping woman before she headed back to her room.

She didn't tell Jane about the incident the morning after. She figured Jane would say something if she had known Maura had been there with her. The blonde didn't want to bring up something that would possibly make Jane believe it was more than just Maura consoling her.

The following night Maura heard the sobbing again. This time she didn't even hesitate before she raced down the stairs and into Jane's room. She stopped in the doorway as the moon cascaded a light on Jane's face that made her seem so helpless.

Maura bit her lip in an attempt to keep her emotions at bay.

Jane didn't deserve to go through the pain she had gone through and was still going through. Maura didn't know everything that Casey had done to her, but clearly it was haunting Jane.

This time Jane was laying on her back so instead of Maura rubbing her back, she rubbed circles on Jane's arm. She studied the side profile of the brunette laying next to her. Maura began to realize just how much had changed in the two years they were apart. There were wrinkles under Jane's eyes that were never there before and her cheek bones had become more prominent. Jane was not the same person as the day she left.

Maura ended up falling asleep in bed next to Jane.

In the morning Jane awoke to a warmth that wasn't there when she fell asleep. She cracked one eye open and was met with the sleeping blonde laying next to her. She furrowed her brow confused as to why Maura was in her bed, but quickly stopped caring. The corner of her mouth turned up as she watched Maura sleep thinking of the many times she had woken up in the two years they were apart and would have given anything to wake up to Maura next to her.

Jane left the bed, leaving a peaceful Maura behind. She made an omelet and coffee, wrote her morning note and left for her walk.

 _M-_

 _Sorry I woke you last night. Thank you for comforting me. You're too good to me. Enjoy your day, beautiful. You deserve it._

 _-J_

When Maura read the note she could feel a warmth spread through her body.

There was no way she was going to be able to keep herself from running back to Jane so easily if she kept doing things like this.

Maura decided she'd take her coffee and finish it outside, enjoy the beautiful morning, and wait for Jane to return. There were things they needed to talk about.

As Jane came walking up the sidewalk she noticed the blonde waiting for her, the early morning sun making her glow.

Maura sat down and patted the space next to her indicating she wanted Jane to join her.

They sat on the porch, the same place they had sat when Jane had confessed the abusive relationship to Maura.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the nightmares."

Maura turned her head and studied Jane's profile. The brunette's head was bowed, looking between her knees at the ground, she looked so sad and guilty.

Maura placed her hand on Jane's left knee.

"You don't have to apologise, Jane. Post traumatic stress disorder is very common when someone has suffered from traumatic experiences such as you have."

Jane couldn't help but smile as she listened to Maura ramble. She lifted her head to look at Maura.

"You haven't changed."

Maura cocked her head to the side, not understanding what Jane meant. Seeing the confusion from the woman next to her, Jane continued.

"You still use that big beautiful brain of yours any chance you get."

Maura blushed and looked away toward the street.

"You actually make my brain feel a little fuzzy."

She subconsciously began to rub small circles into the the brunette's knee. Jane was still staring at her adoringly and before she knew what she was doing Maura captured Jane's lips with her own. It all felt so familiar. Even after so long apart Maura's body reacted to Jane as if they never spent even a minute without each other.

Jane let Maura take charge, afraid that if she tried anything Maura would realize what was happening and run away.

Maura pulled away first, but not out of disgust, and rested her head against Jane's. She kept her eyes closed while Jane kept hers open, studying the blonde's face.

Jane kept her voice at a whisper as she spoke, careful not to spook Maura.

"You know what my nightmares are about?"

"Casey," Maura answered, her voice matching Jane's.

"You."

Maura pulled away to look into Jane's eyes, furrowing her brow.

"I keep going back to the crash and thinking how when my life flashed before my eyes all I could see was you. I was on my way to see you and tell you everything that happened when I got into the accident. I was afraid I was going to lose you. Again."

Tears rolling down both of their faces, Maura reached up and placed her hand on Jane's cheek, rubbing her thumb to wipe away the tears.

"I don't know how to do this Jane. I'm still hurt. Although I don't know what we are or where we stand or where we're going, please know that I love you and I have never stopped."

"I love you so much Maur."

That night there wasn't a nightmare attack, but Maura woke up anyway and needed to see her. Jane was facing the empty spot in the bed this time so when Maura climbed in the two were face to face.

Maura reached out and rubbed up and down the arm that was laying in between them.

She had closed her eyes for only a second and when she opened them again Jane was staring back at her.

Maura gasped. She had already overstepped so many boundaries that day and knew she needed to keep at least some boundaries in place.

Before she could jump out of bed, Jane intertwined their fingers.

"Wait," the raspy voice pleaded in the dark.

"Will you stay?"

Maura searched Jane's eyes and in them she found so many emotions, but above all she saw the love. She smiled as a single tear rolled down her cheek. As much as she knew she needed to leave, she also knew she couldn't.

"If you want me to."

Jane watched as Maura's breathing evened out and when she was sure the blonde wouldn't leave, she fell into a restful sleep surrounded by the presence of the woman she loved with all her heart.


End file.
